Basically Double Fine was developing Spacebase DF9 under Steam early access and at some point just decided to abandon it after cashing on it and released it with less then 1/4 of supposed content (they released an alpha version as a final release version) + they dropped support for it. It was one of the games I was quite excited about to see finished. So im quite cautios with their releases nowadays.

OK, I've played some more.
The more I see of the game, the more I like it.
The humor appeals to me. The different difficulties provide enough challenge. And there IS some more depth for me now that I understand the game and its mechanics a little better. A lot depends on managing your kingdom and the different time frames.
Thumbs up from me!

And then they swiped the concept of the game for Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.

I have no problem with Double Fine except that I think their games in general tend to be long on style and charm and shallow on gameplay, but that's still more than most studios offer. I'll still check out Massive Chalice because I think it looks cool.

Not buying this game for the sole reason that you dislike how DF's other crowd-funded projects were handled is understandable... but really sad. Because this project actually was run really well. They didn't make too much money, they were completely transparent at every step of the way, the twitch hangout events every couple weeks were a joy, and they hit every milestone that they needed to hit. They finished the game on time, under budget, and by most accounts it's essentially exactly what was pitched.

This is the kind of crowdfunded project that should be rewarded.

The game itself is decent. It is basically a light version of xcom put together with a verrrrrrry light version of CK2. It gets better the further in where the strategy elements really start to affect the tactical battles. On their own the tactical battles are a little boring. But more interesting in my opinion than the battles in Banner Saga (which I personally could not stand).

Giving it a try despite reservations because it's the right genre for me. Downloading as we speak. Maybe if I knew more or had been personally burned by their other Kickstarters, I'd be less willing to give them money. At least I'm not gambling on something that doesn't exist yet. I think it's legitimate if people want to withhold support based on past behavior of a studio regarding totally different games. If I didn't have the itch, I might have Wishlisted this one for a hypothetical megasale, myself.

While I definitely get the other points, something like this coming from a suit I'm not inclined to believe no matter whether the game is actually good or not. It's rare for business people in the AAA gaming world to actually play the games they're peddling.

Between the DF9 debacle, the misleading marketing behind Brutal Legend, grossly mismanaged funds, and the pile of trash which was Broken Age, I'll not be spending one dime on Double Fine's products ever again. The fact that their games are always high on concept but poor on gameplay execution doesn't help either.

Seriously, this is Double Fine? the arts are AWFUL ... A W F U L ... characters, colors, scenarios, ... even the HUD ...

There was also the half million dollar loan they had taken to fund the development that they paid back, with interest, despite game not being even nearly finished basically putting over half a million hole in the budged. But the major flaw with the whole project was that it was designed around being funded entirely with EA sales. We're not talking about people working from their parents carrage or people working on game on their spare time or people living in second/third world countries where living expenses are much lower. No we're talking about professional team in US working in a studio costing tens of thousands in salaries and other expenses each month. Considering this, project failing should not have come as surprise to anyone.

Did you watch the documentary. Yes crap that they went over budget but they had never guessed they would get as much as they did on the kickstarter and over compensated in scale of the project. In the end they made it and released it and as a patient kind of person that doesn't bother me

Just a point and click adventure he says, you know there are other costs, music, voice over artists etc, artists due to the graphics of the game. Do you think somehow not being a FPS or RPG makes it by default a cheaper game. Come on now you are just insulting point and click adventure fans saying they play cheap games in effect.

How many FPS and other games that are publisher backed do you think have gone over budget (I'd say quite a few you just don't get the public blow by blow). They often get pushed out full of bugs if the developer doesn't want to fund any longer and every one pays the price.

Did you back them. I did and yes I was annoyed the blew the scope and costs of the game but they delivered in the end. As for DF9 I bought that too on early access and I should have known better (on any early access game).

I think some people blow things out of proportion a little. For backers it is annoying that you don't see an imediate return on your money but for the guys developing it imagine the stress of knowing publicly you are having issues delivering. That you have financial problem and staff have been a laid off and they still delivered in the end (though not so well with DF9).

Broken age was a pile of trash was it. Well I admit I'm about 1/3 to 1/2 way through it. Had to stop playing due to work commitments but I found it ok so far. So is the trash in the last part of it or were you expecting something different?

I don't care that they got more money than they expected, that's not how you do business. You start out with a plan for what you want to do and an estimate on how much time, money and manpower you will need. You leave yourself a small buffer in case something unexpected happens, because something will always happen, and that's what you set as your limits according to.

When it comes to Kickstarter you have to take into account the possibility that the amount of money you get is all the money you will ever get. A Kickstarter pledge is not an investment from an investor, it is a purchase by a customer. If you are releasing a product with a small appeal you have to expect that those Kickstarter purchases are all the sales you will get. So if you invest all of your Kickstarter money in it, you will only break even, not make profit.

Let's say I want to make a game that will cost me 100,000$ to produce (just some random number) and I get 500,000$ dollars. If I stick to my plan I will make 400,000$ profit. However, if I stretch my budget to 500,000$ all the profit is gone. Sure, I will make regular sales after release, but the majority of people who were interested into the game have already bought it.

Of course Double Fine had no idea what they were going to make, Tim Schafer just came out on camera like a Simpsons character "Hello, my name is Tim Schafer, you might remember me from games like Monkey Island and Full Throttle", and expected people to throw free money at him.

And yes, a point & click adventure is cheaper to produce than an RPG or FPS. Adventure games have no physics, no networking, no game rules, no balancing, no big levels, no actual mechanics... there is a reason why these types of games were so prevalent in the early days of home computers. All you need is a programmer, an artist and someone to design the puzzles and story.

You're right that you need to pay artists and composers, sure, but I never said that you didn't. Now in regards to voice actors, I don't understand the obsession of game companies to hire Hollywood actors to do voices. An actor is not a voice actor, they have different skill. It's incredible what real voice actors can do with their voices. So why on earth would you hire a body actor to do the work of a voice actor? I'll tell you why: because you got free money thrown at you and you really want to put "voiced by Elijah Wood" in your credits.

Over. Budget. On. 800%. Funding. If that is blown out of proportion a little for you then I don't want to know what would be justified criticism. Maybe if Double Fine tanked the entire economy you might see a problem with their money handling.

It get's boring. The same things repeated ten times or more. Yawn.

I'm not familiar with Double Fine and it's history, but I've learnt that they didn't complete one project (DF9) and couldn't manage the costs of another (Broken Age) - the result of the second project, however, appears to be acceptable to good, though it didn't please everyone.
There were also a few negative comments about regional pricing. Point understood (but not shared by me, as far as I am concerned).

I'd much rather hear more about Massive Chalice itself. It's a finished thing, so no need to worry about Kickstarters and Early Access stuff. The ratings are not particularly good, but there are only two explicit reviews, one negative, the other positive. Looking at the Steam reviews, I get the impression that many people like the game, some don't, but many of the negative ratings come from people who haven't played Massive Chalice a lot and complain about the DF9 mess and the Broken Age costs.

Isn't there anyone who can comment on Massive Chalice without any prejudices of the negative or positive kind?

PS: Don't get me wrong. I understand the disappointment of the people who invested money in something they believed in, and feel cheated or fooled. And it's absolutely legitimate to voice this disappointment openly and publicly, not to spend more money for DF products, not to trust blindly in the quality of Massive Chalice.
But I would find it fair to judge Massive Chalice based on its own features and properties - positively or negatively.
After all, there is the possibility that DF have learnt from their mistakes, isn't there? (or if you can't believe this: that they got something right accidentally :-)).

But at least Broken Age looks GOOD, Double Fine have a very nice Arts Design in all their games, good games or not is other thing, but this Chalice... URGH!